SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Wright Express, the business payment processor based in South Portland, is expanding its global reach with a $21.9 million investment in a Brazilian company.

The deal is enough to acquire a 51 percent stake in UNIK S.A., a privately held Brazilian company that provides payroll cards and other payment processing services for the retail, government and transportation sectors, Wright Express said in a media release. The deal includes the potential to acquire the UNIK’s remaining shares over the next three years.

The investment marks Wright Express’ debut in the Brazilian marketplace, according to CEO Michael Dubyak. “As a large and growing economy, Brazil is a very attractive market,” Dubyak said in a statement. “We are excited about this venture because of the synergies for expanding into the fleet market and extending our payroll card presence through UNIK’s products in Brazil.”

UNIK has approximately 8,000 corporate clients with 4 million cards that can be used to make purchases through its proprietary network of approximately 30,000 commercial establishments, according to Wright Express.

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Wright Express’ investment in UNIK comes on the heels of another overseas acquisition. In May, the company acquired CorporatePay, a U.K.-based company that provides corporate prepaid services to the travel industry, for roughly $27.5 million.